CALL TO ACTION FOR CATHOLIC RENEWAL
http://www.cta-usa.org/
email:
cta@cta-USA.org
Samson was consecrated to the Lord by his mother in thanksgiving to her answered prayer that she would conceive. Samson married- he married badly, the wrong person, a foreigner Philistine Delilah, but nonetheless it was considered normal he should marry, notwithstanding he was "consecrated" to the Lord. The Jewish tradition was that all first-born males who "opened the womb" were in a fashion sacred and were consecrated to the Lord, just as Jesus was at the temple for Simeon to observe. Being "consecrated to the Lord" was never in the Old Testament any indication of celibacy. Elijiah, the great Jewish prophet, had offspring, and Zechariah, Elizabeth's husband is in the line of Elijiah's descendants. Mary, mother of Jesus was "consecrated" to the Lord- and Married to Joseph. (Protestants and Catholics differ on the issue of the "perpetual" Virginity of Mary; Protestants believe she had normal marital conjugal relations with Joseph after Jesus' birth and abstained from sex only during the pregnancy- the truth for some hinges on the theological treatment of the word "Until" which is parsed more tortiously than what the Clintonian definition of "is" is)- Regardless, it is clear Mary married Joseph. Whether they remained perpetually chaste is a matter of theological difference with doctrines on that point not developed fully until hundreds of years after they lived. For Catholics, the point is well settled -Mary remained always a Virgin; speculation abounds that Joseph could have been a lot older with children from a prior marriage and he could have been chosen by lot to be her guardian-husband as was the custom for the consecrated Temple Virgins (this view of consecrated Temple Virgin borrows from the Greek pagan notion of Temple Virgin and there is no Jewish correlate specifically mentioned in scripture as such.) Some surmise that Jesus would not have appointed John to take care of Mary if she had other children- even while scripture has several references to the "brethren" of Jesus (which term some indicate was as broad a designation for all male relatives, cousins, etc. as "Yo Bro" is in Philadelphia.)
Resolution of the ultimate question of Mary's perpetual Virginity is not dispositive one way or another regarding Priestly celibacy. The argument is sometimes made that Priests should be like Mary and Jesus, who were both celibate virgins their entire lives. That is the total Non-Sequitor that ripped the church in half and spawned more than a hundred years of war in Europe. It is the great Hubris of the church that Priests, the vehicle or vessel through which the Mother of the Lord and the Lord pour themselves in service and sacrifice are not human such that they all must pretend not to be human. God did not create everyone he has called to sacramental service to destroy their humanity. That is a demonic lie from the pit of Hell. There is no such commandment "Thou Shall Not Love." God created Humans to love him as Humans, even Priests.
The fact that Priests stand In Persona Christe- in the place of Christ in consecration of the Eucharist does not make them Christ- it makes them someone through whom, as a human, Christ can re-enter humanity to reach his children. If I was ever asked to do the reading at Mass in the place of the usual liturgical reader, such as a fine Federal Judge I know who does it now, because he is on vacation or absent, my standing in his place and doing exactly as he did and saying exactly what he would say in a reading does not make me a Federal Judge. It makes me his definitionally inadequate substitute because I am not a Federal Judge.
The Lord does not demand celibacy of everyone in his service but specifically "gifts" some for the calling of celibacy which is a unique calling, and not one that automatically comes with the calling to the Priesthood or any Ministry. God calls some to be celibate for a season, others for a lifetime. He calls people for ministry that he does not call to celibacy. Some priests who are NOT GIFTED with celibacy but forced under it's rule spiritually suffer greatly missing female intimacy in deep depressing loneliness that manifests in all sorts of negative ways (alcoholism, deviancies, deceptions, guilt over surreptitious liaisons, etc.)-Those same people can be great Preachers and Pastors. That is why celibacy MUST be optional and not a forced condition of employment for any Priest's ordination or clerical service. Otherwise, the institution is stifling the Spirit- and the whole world suffers.
When a gift is "presumed" and insisted upon where it is not actually given, it mocks God; the person is essentially living a lie- they torture themselves and can become miserable. God's desire is not that people should be miserable but just the opposite- Joyful! He came that your Joy may be full. We sing, Joyful Joyful we adore Him. Joy. It is the wellspring of Hope. This presumption conflating callings couples for some the fulfillment of their calling with the gutting of their potential for happiness. It creates an untenable soul selling Sophie's choice. They know they are called to preach and so sell their birthright and potential first born progeny. This is not from God- this is a man made institutionalized forced deviancy from the purity of the Sacred Heart.
Many priests don't have a problem with the fact that celibacy is institutionally IMPOSED on a calling to Priesthood. Those ones likely have the gift of celibacy (or are asexual or suppressed homosexuals) so the choice is easy and not uncomfortable. SOME DO have a problem with it because the Lord hasn't gifted them with a vacuous void of desire for female intimacy. They struggle with it. They almost didn't become Priests because of it- and now that they are Priests they are trapped. [I am often struck by how "all about me" some of the vocation stories one hears are when describing how a man chose God over a girl he loved without mentioning how the lady in love felt being dumped for the Altar]
ONE THIRD of all Priests have married. Many more would like to. Those are the people whose calling to be Priests administering the sacraments should not be disrespected or lost because they also wish to Marry. The Catholic church only hurts itself in perpetuating the myth that all Priests administering the sacraments should be lifetime celibates. Jesus never REQUIRED or ASKED anyone to be celibate. To the contrary, he picked Peter, the rock, on whom the church was founded, knowing he was married. We are not just told in scripture that Peter was married, we are told inferentially that Jesus knew he was married because Jesus visited his mother-in-law who was sick and cured her. Thus, it cannot be said that Jesus picked Peter and didn't factor into the choosing that he was a married man. Jesus could have chosen the Ethiopian Eunich as the first Pope. Jesus named Peter Cephas-the Rock. That infers a solidity- the solidity and stability of a married man who took care of his mother in law. Jesus knew all about Peter's family life- and called him "the Rock." Even Paul noted that a Bishop and Deacons had to be the husband of one wife with his house in order because how can he be expected to properly run a church if his own house isn't in order. There is a notion of Solidness that comes with a man that knows how to take a wife and keep a family provided for and protected that was and is intrinsic to the qualities that Jesus was looking for when he announced Peter, the Rock the head of his church. He wasn't looking for a Padre Player, a Father Filander, a Bishop Gigolo or Deacon Dateless-- he was looking for a Rock. A married man who took care of his family. Solid.
The wife of the first Pope Saint Peter has been shockingly totally rewritten out of history. It's as odd as it is appalling. We know the names of the parents of other Saints, and we see scriptural references to other women designated as so and so, the wife of so and so- but we don't even know the name of the wife of Saint Peter. There is some rumor that while Peter was crucified upside down somewhere near the Appian Way, his wife was crucified in the same fashion along with him-but no one knows for sure. While there is an entire town centered around "Saint Peter's" church-the Vatican and Vatican City, with the relics/bones of Saint Peter inside the church basement/crypt, no one can point to where the grave of Mrs. Pope is. There is no bronze plaque, no marker, no statue of Mrs. Peter Pope anywhere. Yet, she lived- and she is likely part of the reason why Peter was chosen to be Pope. A big reason- because Jesus had far greater respect, admiration and deep love for women than the institutional church today demonstrates.
Merely asking the question "Where is the grave of Saint Peter's Wife" can get you scornful looks and scoffs- as if the fact that Peter had a wife was a dirty little secret.
Whose theology says that God is so mean, small and limited that he cannot transubstantiate himself through a man that has MORE deeper love for a woman such that he married her? Such a view can only come from the most misogynist woman-bashing, fear and loathing for womanhood that is completely contrary to what God told us about the place of women in scripture; that Eve was the ONLY SUITABLE HELPMATE for Adam. He could have cloned Adam. We could have a world that looks like the College of Cardinals, that most elite boys club with God working only through men - that is not how God made mankind and the world. The fact that the Pope keeps making proclamations against Optional Celibacy as opposed to his forcing Mandatory celibacy doesn't change the fact that mandatory celibacy is scriptural disobedience and as such is a sort of institutional sin. It can in fact create deep pain, psychological disturbance and disorder- as can all sin. The recasting of sexual love as unholy is itself unholy, untruthful and unscriptural. Marital conjugal love is the deepest form of intimate communication expressing the deepest love that God created for humans. Priests don't know what they are missing and barely know what they are talking about if they have no experience with it when God is calling them to it (which he can do in conjunction with a call to sacramental priestly service.)
God does gift a few good men with the lack of any desire to be conjugally connected to a woman. He gifts a few other good men with healthy views on marriage, women and family life.
Here is what the wisest man ever on earth had to say about romance and human sexuality:
"Behold, you are beautiful, my love, behold you are so beautiful, Your eyes are doves behind your veil, Your hair is like a flock of goats moving down the slopes of Gilead. Your teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes that have come up from the washing all of which bear twins, and not one among them is bereaved, Your lips are like a scarlet thread and your mouth is lovely, Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate behind your veil, Your neck is like the Tower of David built for an arsenal whereupon hang a thousand bucklers all of them shields of warriors. Your two breasts are like fawns, twins of a gazelle, that feed among the lilies. Until the day breathes and the shadows flee, I will tie me to the mountain of myrrh and the hill of frankincense. You are all fair, my love, there is no flaw in you. Come with me from Lebanon, my bride; Depart from the peak of Amana, from the peak of Senir and Hermon, from the dens of lions, from the mountains of leopards. You have ravished my heart, my sister, my bride..." Song of Solomon, 4:1 et seq. By King Solomon, Son of King David, ancestors of Jesus the Lord.
Now I might not think it any high praise if some guy told me my hair looked like a flock of goats- I would change shampoo conditioners immediately, but at the time this was an ancient rousing phone sex talk. He doesn't ask what she's wearing, he describes what she's wearing obsessively. He is in very hot pursuit. The entire book of the Song of Solomon is a book of love letters like this- and romantic advice on how to proceed. Nothing pruddish or virginal about it, and nothing evil about it either- or it wouldn't be in sacred scripture the way it is.
A Brief History of Celibacy in the
Catholic Church
First Century
Peter, the first pope, and the apostles that Jesus chose were, for the most part, married men. The New Testament implies that women presided at eucharistic meals in the early church.
Second and Third Century
Age of Gnosticism: light and spirit are good, darkness and material things are evil. A person cannot be married and be perfect. However, most priests were married.
Fourth Century
306-Council of Elvira, Spain, decree #43: a priest who sleeps with his wife the night before Mass will lose his job.
325-Council of Nicea: decreed that after ordination a priest could not marry. Proclaimed the Nicene Creed.
352-Council of Laodicea: women are not to be ordained. This suggests that before this time there was ordination of women.
385-Pope Siricius left his wife in order to become pope. Decreed that priests may no longer sleep with their wives.
Fifth Century
401-St. Augustine wrote, “Nothing is so powerful in drawing the spirit of a man downwards as the caresses of a woman.”
Sixth Century
567- Council of Tours: any cleric found in bed with his wife would be excommunicated for a year and reduced to the lay state.
580-Pope Pelagius II: his policy was not to bother married priests as long as they did not hand over church property to wives or children.
590-604-Pope Gregory “the Great” said that all sexual desire is sinful in itself (meaning that sexual desire is intrinsically evil?).
Seventh Century
France: documents show that the majority of priest were married.
Eighth Century
St. Boniface reported to the pope that in Germany almost no bishop or priest was celibate.
Ninth Century
836-Council of Aix-la-Chapelle openly admitted that abortions and infanticide took place in convents and monasteries to cover up activities of uncelibate clerics.
St. Ulrich, a holy bishop, argued from scripture and common sense that the only way to purify the church from the worst excesses of celibacy was to permit priests to marry.
Eleventh Century
1045-Pope Boniface IX dispensed himself from celibacy and resigned in order to marry.
1074-Pope Gregory VII said anyone to be ordained must first pledge celibacy: ‘priests [must] first escape from the clutches of their wives.’
1095-Pope Urban II had priests’ wives sold into slavery, children were abandoned.
Twelfth Century
1123-Pope Calistus> II: First Lateran Council decreed that clerical marriages were invalid.
1139-Pope Innocent II: Second Lateran Council confirmed the previous council’s decree.
Fourteenth Century
Bishop Pelagio complains that women are still ordained and hearing confessions.
Fifteenth Century
Transition; 50% of priests are married and accepted by the people.
Sixteenth Century
[Guttenberg> Press invention makes publication of the Bible available in more mass produced bulk for popular common reading of the masses]
1545-63-Council of Trent states that celibacy and virginity are superior to marriage.
1517-Martin Luther. (An Augustinian order Monk who disagreed, broke with the church on several theological issues penned into a statement of theses nailed to the front door of his church in Wittenberg>, eventually married a former nun and had five children)-
1530-Henry VIII.
Seventeenth Century
More Inquisition. Galileo. Newton.
Eighteenth Century
1776-American Declaration of Independence.
1789-French Revolution. (Fierce anti-clerical movement fueled in large part by the perceived wealth of the French Bishops contrasted with the poverty of the peasantry)
Nineteenth Century
1804-Napoleon.
1882-Darwin.
1847-Marx, Communist Manifesto.
1858-Freud.
1869-First Vatican Council; infallibility of pope declared.
Twentieth Century
1930-Pope Pius XI: declaration that sex can be good and holy.
1951-Pope Pius XII: married Lutheran pastor ordained catholic priest in Germany.
1962-Pope John XXIII: Vatican Council II; vernacular; marriage is equal to virginity.
1966-Pope Paul VI: celibacy dispensations.
1970s-Ludmilla ass=blsp-spelling-error id=SPELLING_ERROR_32>Javorova and several other Czech women ordained to serve needs of women imprisoned by Communists.
1978-Pope John Paul II: puts a freeze on dispensations.
1983-New Canon Law.
1980-Married Anglican/Episcopal pastors are ordained as catholic priests in the U.S.; also in Canada and England in 1994.
The practice of ordaining Protestant married clergy to the Catholic Priesthood continues to this day.
Popes who were married
St. Peter, Apostle
St. Felix III 483-492 (2 children)
St. Hormidas 514-523 (1 son)
St. Silverus (Antonia) 536-537
Hadrian II 867-872 (1 daughter)
Clement IV 1265-1268 (2 daughters)
Felix V 1439-1449 (1 son)
Popes who were the sons of other popes, other clergy
Name of Pope Papacy Son of
St. Damascus I 366-348 St. Lorenzo, priest
St. Innocent I 401-417 Anastasius I
Boniface 418-422 son of a priest
St. Felix 483-492 son of a priest
Anastasius II 496-498 son of a priest
St. Agapitus I 535-536
Gordiaous, priest
St. Silverus 536-537 St. Homidas, pope
Deusdedit 882-884 son of a priest
Boniface VI 896-896 Hadrian, bishop
John XI 931-935 Pope Sergius III
John XV 989-996 Leo, priest
Popes who had "illegitimate" or out of wedlock children after 1139
Innocent VIII 1484-1492 several children
Alexander VI 1492-1503 several children
Julius 1503-1513 3 daughters
Paul III 1534-1549 3 sons, 1 daughter
Pius IV 1559-1565 3 sons
Gregory XIII 1572-1585 1 son
History sources:
Oxford Dictionary of Popes; H.C. Lea History of Sacerdotal Celibacy in the Christian Church 1957; E. Schillebeeckx The Church with a Human Face 1985; J. McSorley Outline History of the Church by Centuries 1957; F.A.Foy (Ed.) 1990 Catholic Almanac 1989; D.L. Carmody The Double Cross - Ordination, Abortion and Catholic Feminism 1986; P.K. Jewtt The Ordination of Women 1980; A.F. Ide God's Girls - Ordination of Women in the Early Christian & Gnostic Churches 1986; E. Schüssler Fiorenza In Memory of Her 1984; P. DeRosa Vicars of Christ 1988.
Myths and Facts
Myth: All priests take a vow of celibacy.
Fact: Most priests do not take a vow. It is a promise made before the bishop.
Myth: Celibacy is not the reason for the vocation shortage.
Fact: A 1983 survey of Protestant churches shows a surplus of clergy; the Catholic church alone has a shortage.
Myth: Clerical celibacy has been the norm since the Second Lateran Council in 1139.
Fact: Priests and even popes still continued to marry and have children for several hundred years after that date. In fact, the Eastern and Byzantine Rite Catholic Church still has married priests.
In the Latin Church, one may be a married priest if:
one is a Protestant pastor first; or
if one is a life-long Catholic but promises never again to have sexual relations with one’s wife.
Myth: The vocation shortage is due to materialism and lack of faith.
Fact: Research (1985 Lilly endowment): “there is no evidence to support loss of faith for less vocations...youth volunteer and campus ministry is rising.”
The Future Church group and many people like them believe that priests should be allowed to marry and that women have an equal right to have their call to ordination
tested along with male candidates.
Celibacy is a gift of the Spirit, as is the call to marriage,
and the single life. Celibacy if it is not a Gift, is just an imposed discriminatory policy.
Gifts cannot be mandated, so it is from a deep respect for the gift of celibacy that we request that it be made optional and not forced upon those who do not feel called in this way.
NB: Being called to serve the Lord as a minister or Priest has nothing to do with the separate Gifting of the Spirit for Celibacy.
originally developed by Corpus Canada
revision jointly sponsored by Call To Action and FutureChurch
Resources and information
Future of Priestly Ministry main page
Optional Celibacy Survey Results
Priest Shortage USA: 1976-2006
Bishops' conference discusses priest shortage
A Brief History of Celibacy in the Catholic Church
Questions and Answers About Women's Ordination
"Infallibility" and equality in Catholicism
How to start a dialogue
Priest shortage statistics
Dutch Dominicans Say Choose Eucharist Presiders from Parish
http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0705340.htm
For more information on these topics or to request a FutureChurch Newsletter
write to:
FutureChurch
17307 Madison Avenue
Lakewood, Ohio 44107 USA
Phone: 216.228.0869 Fax: 216.228.4872
E-mail: info@futurechurch.org
No comments:
Post a Comment